Ann's Blog

(Image Information: Black Cat,  Pixabay ) The King o' the Cats:  By Joseph Jacobs This is the story of King O' the Cats from his perspective. My name is King Tom. I am the King O' the Cats. I have not always been king, however. Once upon a time, I was known merely as Old Tom. This was back in the day when I lived with a human family. My family's name was Marlow. Nights with the Marlow family were usually quite peaceful, and the night I became king started off like all others. It was a calm evening. Mrs. Marlow and I were dozing by the fire, waiting for Mr. Marlow to come home from work. All of a sudden, Mr. Marlow came running in, appearing nervous and agitated. Naps interrupted, Mrs. Marlow and I sat up.  "Why, what is it, my dear?" The Mrs. asked her husband.  "You'll never believe it, but I must tell you! I cannot keep it to myself! I have had the oddest occurrence and I simply don't know what to think." Mrs. Marlow and I look...

The Fairy Bride At sixteen years old, Annie was pretty sure she was grown enough to know whether or not something was good for her. Her parents, evidently, disagreed. She was being forced to marry a man whom she had no love for, just because her parents wanted it. She was currently in the kitchen, trying to argue some sense into her mom, who was washing the dishes. So far, Annie hadn't achieved much.   "Honey, if you would just calm down and listen to us, maybe you'd understand that we are just trying to do what's best for you. We love you more than anything and we know what's best." Her mom said, drying a dish. Annie could feel a headache coming on already. "Mom!" she said, "How can this be what's best when I am clearly miserable? You know, just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm not a human being with feelings and opinions!"  Mom sighed. "Annie now you're just being dramatic. I know you are unhappy right ...

(Image Information: Fox Face,  Flickr ) (Image Information: Fox Close Up,  Maxpixel ) Hello. My name is Alex and this is my story about fox power.  It was nearly forty years ago. I was a young boy, about thirteen. My family lived out in the country in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma. My mother had always loved animals, and she was constantly adopting them because she couldn't stand to see them hungry. We had sheep, pigs, cats, dogs, rabbits, goats...you name it, and we probably kept it as a pet. The one creature we'd never cared for was foxes. Back then, there weren't many foxes in our part of the woods.  One day I'm out feeding and watering the animals, something I don't particularly like doing but have to do anyway. The pig has gone and knocked her water bin over, so I've gotta climb the fence to her pen and turn it over for her. I'm struggling in the mud, trying to right the dang thing. It's heavy, and my feet are slipping in the mud and ...

(Image Information, Cupid and Psyche,  Wikipedia ) Once upon a time, there was a princess named Psyche. She was so beautiful, that strangers from all over the world came to her city to see her. When Venus noticed that people had stopped visiting her temples and instead were focused on the beautiful princess Psyche, she became very angry. S he called to her son, Cupid, and commanded him to punish the girl. Psyche's father feared for his daughter. He visited an oracle for advice and received bad news. The oracle told the king he must take Psyche to the top of a cliff and abandon her. The king refused to do this to his daughter and tried to come up with a different plan. However, when Psyche heard, she insisted that it be done. She could not bear the thought of burdening her parents with Venus's wrath. The next day, she was taken to the top of the mountain.  Left alone, Psyche prayed to Venus, asking for mercy. While she was praying, a gentle wind caught her and c...

There was once an old widow named Penelope, who lived on the top of a mountain. This old woman had three sons, Patroclus, Perseus, and Pygmalion.  Now, these sons were grown, and two of them had married and moved away. Pygmalion was the only one who remained. After a while, Pygmalion built himself a house by his mother's, for he could not stand his mother pestering him to marry. Pygmalion was an unusual man. He was very self-concerned; he didn't notice much that did not directly affect him. He viewed most people as beneath him and had no interest in interacting with anyone. All he ever did was work. His mother worried about him. She knew he would never find someone to love him, for who would love a man who cared only for himself? And he was neither rich nor handsome. He was destined to be a lonely hermit for his whole life. Penelope knew she would never find a girl willing to marry him, but she was desperate for him to have a partner, for she knew she would not live forever, an...